Zuu zuu zuu. Pow!

From the mid-'50s to the arrival of the Beatles in 1964, there was a type of swinging, witty, joyful music now known by various names such as exotica, lounge music and space age pop. One of the most clever and inventive bandleaders of the time was Juan Garcia Esquivel, better known simply as Esquivel. When the Beatles hit big, it spelled the end of this type of music. It was mostly forgotten until a music collector by the name of Irwin Chusid discovered Esquivel's music. Most collectors would simply buy the old albums, play them for friends and that would be it. Not Chusid. He convinced Bar/None Records to release a compilation of Esquivel's music, and wrote the liner notes himself. It might be pushing things to say that one album single-handedly jump-started the lounge music revival of the mid-'90s, but it was certainly right on the leading edge of the scene.

The man.

Juan Garcia Esquivel was a musical prodigy from Mexico. He was a true virtuoso on the piano and a popular bandleader. When stereo LPs started arriving on the scene in the early 1950s, Esquivel was quick to jump on the possibilities stereo afforded. He produced a series of outrageously arranged and performed albums that continually pushed the envelope of what was possibly in the studio. He would hire singers to sing nothing but nonsense syllables. He would record two orchestras at the same time, connected only by headphones so they could keep in synch, to get complete stereo separation. Wild swoops would be punctuated by his gorgeous piano glissandos. His music would contrast wild extremes of volume at seemingly random moments. But most importantly, it was always fun. There was always a sly humor to his music. His music was a wonderful aural playground, and we were all invited to play with him.

The man. In color.

Around 1990, Mustafa and I started feeling like we were in a rut musically. Whenever we went to the music store, we always headed to the rock/pop section and that was it. We broke out of that rut in a big way when we decided to check out the world music section of the local Tower Records store. It started us on an ever widening music odyssey that we're still enjoying. The release of "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music" happened at exactly the right time for us. We found it, latched on to it, and embraced it. We started buying all the lounge/exotica/space age music we could find. We started drinking cocktails instead of beer. (Okay, "in addition to beer" would be more accurate.) As much as we enjoyed the fun and the kitsch of the music we discovered, we always kept coming back to Esquivel. He had something special. It was that sense of humor his music always displayed. He was a man having fun, and we were in on the joke. Thankfully, Esquivel was still alive to enjoy the sudden and unexpected revival of his music. Confined to a wheelchair because of back injuries, he gave interviews from his home in Mexico. He was very grateful to Irwin Chusid for championing his music, even making him the curator and administrator of his musical legacy. We Stax Bros are thankful to Chusid as well. His perseverance ensured Esquivel's unique musical vision wouldn't be forgotten. Go get this CD.